LOS ANGELES , California -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Listening to writer Brian K. Vaughan summarize the plot of his comic book , `` Y : The Last Man , '' makes it sound like just another pulp title .

Brian K. Vaughan says he 's `` depressed '' about the end of `` Y : The Last Man , '' but he 's got other projects to work on .

`` A plague of mysterious origin destroys every male mammal , human being and animal on the planet , '' he says , `` except for one boy and his monkey . And wackiness ensues . ''

Well , that 's the story boiled down to its basics . But the tale of amateur escapist Yorick Brown , the last man alive on an Earth now home to only women , and his monkey , Ampersand , is actually far more complex than Vaughan 's description reveals , involving long journeys , the value of memory and the politics of gender roles . The title , which has had a very successful five-year run , is coming to an end this week with the release of issue No. 60 .

It is a finale that is equally emotional for both fans and its creator .

`` I guess I 've moved into acceptance but that does n't mean that I 'm not still depressed about it , '' says Vaughan , 31 , a soft-spoken Cleveland , Ohio , native who now makes his home in Los Angeles . Gallery : The worlds of Brian K. Vaughan ''

`` It 's been weird because it 's a gradual -LSB- form of -RSB- saying good-bye , '' he says . `` First , you finish the script , but then it still has to be penciled and inked , and there 's so many stages in comics that it 's sort of been like the stages of death . ''

Vaughan 's career in comics dates back more than a decade , but his love for the medium stretches back to his adolescence . Already an avid fan of comic books , he discovered Alan Moore 's seminal graphic novel `` Watchmen '' on a family vacation . It would be the spark that inspired him to give life to his own stories . Watch Vaughan pick out some of his influences ''

When Vaughan first pitched his concept for `` Y : The Last Man '' to Vertigo , an imprint of DC Comics , he was focused on a specific ending , without knowing whether the series would last long enough to reach it .

`` We had a long-term idea -LSB- of doing -RSB- five years but realistically , I knew I had just gotten ` Swamp Thing ' canceled at Vertigo and most people had n't heard of Pia -LSB- Guerra -RSB- , the artist , '' he says .

`` It 's not like we were destined for a long and successful run , '' he adds , smiling .

Almost immediately following its debut in 2002 , the series found success , earning critical praise as well as five Eisner Awards , the comic-book Oscars , along the way .

Yorick 's quest to find his girlfriend , lost somewhere in a world forever changed by this mysterious plague , was just as much an international adventure story as it was the tale of the women in his life : his bodyguard , the enigmatic Agent 355 ; medical researcher Alison Mann ; even his sister , Hero , and his mother . Their experiences can be read as parables on humanity in a world where gender has been all but eliminated from the equation .

Now , as their stories come to a close , Vaughan likens it to ending a relationship .

`` It 'll be a drag not to get to spend more time with these characters , '' observes Vaughan .

He adds he will also miss his collaborating with Guerra , who has provided the art for the entire series run .

`` It 's hard to not think about working with Pia , just because I think she is the best ` actor ' in comics , '' he says . '' -LSB- That 's -RSB- a weird thing to say , but she captures emotions better than anyone . I 'm very hopeful we 'll work together again . ''

Meanwhile , Vaughan 's other work in comics , including `` Ex Machina '' -LRB- Wildstorm -RRB- and `` Runaways '' -LRB- Marvel -RRB- , has captured the attention of Hollywood . Both `` Y '' and `` Ex Machina '' are currently being developed into films . Meanwhile , Vaughan , a one-time film student , has begun a career in television , working as a writer on ABC 's `` Lost . ''

Remaining true to the mysteries of the island , Vaughan says he can share `` just about nothing '' from the upcoming fourth season of the series , which has been cut from 16 episodes to eight as a casualty of the continuing writer 's strike . The fourth season premieres Thursday night .

`` Everything is still sort of in flux , sadly , but I know I 'm disappointed , '' says Vaughan , who was a fan of the show before `` Lost '' producer and fellow `` comic book geek '' Damon Lindelof approached him to write for it . `` I think these eight episodes are eight of the best in the entire series . ''

As production remains shut down both on `` Lost '' and the film adaptation of `` Y : The Last Man , '' Vaughan considers himself fortunate . Comic books are n't covered by the Writer 's Guild of America , allowing him to continue to work while his colleagues can not .

Despite the accolades and opportunities , Vaughan sees his growth , both personally and professionally , as very much a work in progress .

`` I was just a kid when I came up with the idea for ` Y ' so I like to think that I 've evolved as much as Yorick has over the course of the book . But I 'm a comic book writer , '' he continues , `` so I 'm still a big dumb child , and I think I always will be . ''

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Brian K. Vaughan 's `` Y : The Last Man '' ending its run

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Comic book took on big themes with its story of last man on earth

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Vaughan , now a writer on `` Lost , '' believes the show 's next 8 episodes terrific